Auto BP cuffs. Is there a reliable one?

[Weebils-Wobble]

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I'll just frag the understood lurking period for my screename since I've been lurking here for years anyway.

I need to know if anybody has used those automatic BP cuffs that fit on the wrist or arm and are self-contained units. I'm not talking about the units on a stand that nurses cart around. Those are impractical for the field.

I have to use an auto cuff because I can't find a hearing aid manufacturer that can make them small enough to accommodate a stethescope. I have to take them out many times a day and put them in peril of being lost or destroyed in the hazards of a field enviroment. The hearing aids are $4000 dollars a pair 😱 and I have already had to replace one.

It occured to me that EMTs also work in such an enviroment and have a need for taking multiple pressures. I thought maybe someone, or some service would have used one for those reasons.

Which are the most reliable?
Where can I get that model?

 

[12R34Y]

Our LifePack 12's had automated BP, O2 sat and CO2 monitor all in one pack. I liked them for use in the field. Physiocontrol makes them.

later

 

[southerndoc]

I think Propaq makes the Rescue 911 model that has been the most reliable.

 

[ISU_Steve]

The auto BP cuffs that fit around the wrist are notoriously unreliable- I have a research article about it around here somewhere which I will try to find and post (we're in them middle of rearranging everything in our apartment so it might take a couple of days)- and I would strongly recommend against them. Of course our medical director has ordered us to not use ANY automated BP system in the field and I happen to agree with this sentiment.

 

[Weebils-Wobble]

Thanks for the responses,

I have heard that the wrist models are unreliable also. Nobody that has experience with them thinks they're worth using.

That one with the O2 sat and the CO2 sounds good. Did it come close to the ABGs in the ER?

Thanks for the leads. I need to make this happen next week.

 

[ISU_Steve]

Sidestream ETCO2 (the CO2 system you're talking about) gives a rough approximation of PaCO2 levels, but it's very user dependent- i.e. put it in the hands of someone who is not very proficient and it become unreliable (just like anything else). When used in an intubated patient, ETCO2 compares very favorably with PaCO2 more so than the sidestream sampling systems. They are both useful systems with their own uses and people need to realize that there are limitations, particularly with the sidestream systems, and those systems are not necessarily a must-have item in the field. ETCO2 becomes most useful in intubated patients (to verify placement) and in ventilator management (particularly of head trauma patients), with less benefit (often uproven or anecdotal at best) in non-intubated patients particularly in the hospital setting.

 

[Weebils-Wobble]

Sidestream ETCO2 (the CO2 system you're talking about) gives a rough approximation of PaCO2 levels, but it's very user dependent- i.e. put it in the hands of someone who is not very proficient and it become unreliable (just like anything else). When used in an intubated patient, ETCO2 compares very favorably with PaCO2 more so than the sidestream sampling systems. They are both useful systems with their own uses and people need to realize that there are limitations, particularly with the sidestream systems, and those systems are not necessarily a must-have item in the field. ETCO2 becomes most useful in intubated patients (to verify placement) and in ventilator management (particularly of head trauma patients), with less benefit (often uproven or anecdotal at best) in non-intubated patients particularly in the hospital setting.

True.

As with any system, its efficacy is dependant on the understanding of its limitations.